Sheet delivery mechanism



April 1940- 1 s. A. HUFFMAN 51 L 2,195,533

SHEET DELIVERY. MECHANISM Filed lay 13, 1938 '7 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS Samuel A fluff/nan, Joseph S/hkoV/fz and/1U 05f ASa April 2, 1940. s. A. HUFFMAN Er-AL.

SHEET DELIVERY MECHANISM Filed May 13, 1938 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 IIIIFIFL in "9 INVENTORS Samuel A Huffman, Joseph Jm/rowfz and/1 ugusf 4. 880/ Fig.2B.

April 1940- s. A. HUFFMAN El AL 2,195,533

SHEET DELIVERY MECHANISM Filed Kay 13, 1958 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS Samuel A. Huffman, Joseph Sinker/f2 anaAI/gz/Jf 4, 5841/ April 2, 1940.

5. A. HUFFMAN ET AL SHEET DELIVERY MECHANISM Filed lay 1s, 195a '7 Sheets-Sheet 4 2 T u wy M 0 KA d 0 f 94 Md Jam April 2, 1940. s. A. HUFFMAN ET AL SHEET DELIVERY MECHANISM Filed na 13; 1958 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 V 2% ca 9 N 1 wmhwo April 1940- A. HUFFMAN ET AL 5 3 SHEET DELIVERY MECHANISM Filed May 13, 1938 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 x Q INVENTORS Samue/A Huff/r7 90, Joseph Sin/rowfz and/1 0 0m ASau/ April 1940- s. A. HUFFMAN ET AL 2,195,533

SHEET DELIVERY MECHANISM Filed May 13, 1938 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 I ll INVENTORS delivering-and piling by" ny or T e t on of pile supports. We are thus able to remove a. pile from one support while the press continues to deliver sheets to another support. We also provide means whereby the delivery of sheets may be shifted from one pile support to another withste mand the machine so that, barring accia ,m y be run continuously; as. 38,11 to complete the job in hand. 2,: aipreferred form of'the inventiomgwe provide ,5 relates specifi ally. gordelivering a relativelyfflxed-conveyor adapted. to receive ,5, shoe a' pres's 'ar- {sheets as discharged irom the press. 1 necip'ron ranged to per-ro tingjand creasing op m-v catingconveyors arranged in tandem are sodlstions thereon. 1 Y j posed relative to the fixed conveyorthat'one oil j v In cutting and creasing operations, ertain them cooperates with the latter and is adapted in portions oi' the sheet completely to receive sheets successively therefrom. ,Between 10, through, mak1ng t, pm up u p ibl t d the reciprocating conveyors we. provide deflecting j liverthe by t e usually employed means whereby a sheet receivedby the first refor delivering sheets after such processing ope pr a e c n y y 'di e ively .erations as printing wherein no shearing is et-' 1 the Second n r 1 im ly to a pile 1a fected. Sheets which have been out and creas d support. If the sheet is delivered to the second requireto-be supported throughout substantially o eyor it s discharged therefrom onto a pi e their entire area. While varioustypes of pile pp v delivery mechanisms for h et; whi h hav b n .The details of our invention will be described cut and creased hav been pro osed h r t f r and'explained fully herebelow with reference to they have all, so far aswe are aware, been charthe accompanying w n s illustrating a preacterlzed by a, common dimculty orobjecflonable ferred embodiment with a modification 0! cerfeature, viz., the fact that the press on which tam features. In he drawings: the cutting and creasing is eilfected must be 11$ e vation partly broken away; stopped periodically inorder to remove a pile of Figsand 2b, h p e Side by S de sheets accumulating at the discharge end of with the-former on the left, constitute a plan 25 livery. This dimculty, while similar to that ex--. w w parts mit d for clearness; perienced in printing Opel-among, i even more. F1gs., 3c and 3b similarly constitute a central pronounced in cutting and creasing because the longitudinal SGCtlOIl taken along the line III-III stock employed is usually of substantial thickness of Figs- 2a and so that the pile builds u very rapidly. in a I aeplen view to ed scale of a por- 3G specific machine, for example, the pile support of t mechanism shown In 2b, p rtly is fully loaded after fifteen minutes operation. in e i; It will be recognized that stoppage oi the machine a 5 is seetlonal w partly k n w for pile removal every fifteen minutes imposes a taken along the line f severe limitation upon the production obtain Figs 6 and are sectional v ws'taken along abla the lines VI-VI and VII-VIE respectively of Delivery mechanisms which do not dispose the 5;

cut and creased sheets in a pile do not require 3 is Partial seei'llenei V w ken along stopping of the press but are little used because of the l VIIIV11 I of Fig. 3

other objectigna Fig. 9 is avpartial plan view showing the ele- 40 We have invented a pile delivery mechanism 1 illustrated in 3;

specially adapted for sheets which have been j 10 is a Partial Plan w showing m subjected to cutting and creasing operations, of a feature Shown in Flgs- 3 d which satisfies the requirement first mentioned, is a Partial P View be e la ged scale viz., support for the sheets substantially throughof q m features Shown 8-180 in Fig. 2a; and

out its entire area, and furthermore, makes it un- F g. 12 i side elevation f the parts shown necessary to stop the press to unload or remove in 1 Y an accumulated pile. In accordance with our innew in detall the rawings, the vention we provide a delivery capable of disapparatus of our invention is mounted on paced 5 charging sheets on) a 1 t d one of a plurality side frames i0 and II disposed substantially in alinement with .-and, in efiect,'constituting continuations of the side frames I3 of a press adapted for cutting and creasing operations. The press includes a cylinder l4 journaled in suitable bearlugs and a reciprocating bed (not shown) 00- operating therewith and provided with cutting and creasing dies. The details of the construction and operation of the press are well known so require no further explanation. The side frames I6 and II have feet I5 resting on the side frames I3 and are secured thereto by bolted brackets I6. The side frames I0 and I I are each made in two pieces bolted together, the joint between sections being shown at I1. The sections of the side framesmost remote from the press are provided with supporting legs I8 adapted to engage the foundation or floor I9 on which the side frames I3 are positioned.

Brackets 2I mounted on the side frames I0- and II at the press end thereof support a transverse shaft 22 in suitable bearings. Brackets 23 extend inwardly from the side frames I 0 and II and are provided with bearings in which are disposed a shaft 24. The shafts 22 and 24' are provided with pulleys about which are trained tapes 25 constituting a continuous belt conveyor for receiving sheets delivered from the press cylinder I4 across strippers 26. The tapes 25 also extend around a tightener 25a. The shaft 22 is driven by a chain and sprocket drive 21 from the cylinder I4.

Cooperating with the tapes 25 are top tapes 28 (see Fig. l). The tapes 28 are trained around a shaft 29 journaled in bearings formed in portions of brackets 2|. These portions, as well as the tapes 28, are omitted from Figs. 2a and 2b for the sake of clearness. The tapes 28 are also trained around pulleys 3 I. These pulleys are supported on a cross rod 32 fixed at its ends in side frames I6 and II by means of brackets 33 and fingers 34. The shaft 29 is provided with a gear meshing with a gear 35 on shaft 22. By this means, the tapes 25 and 28 are driven at the same speed so long as the press cylinder rotates.

Reciprocating conveyors indicated generally at 36 and 31 cooperate with the fixed conveyor already described. As best shown in Figs. 3b and 5, the conveyor 36 comprises a frame including side bars 38 and a cross rod 39 secured to brackets 46 extending inwardly from the bars 38. The side bars 36 have rack teeth 40a formed thereon and are supported on slide blocks 4I secured thereto and adapted to travel along ways 42 formed on the inside faces of the side frames I6 and II. Pulleys 43 are journaled in yokes 44 which are secured to the rod 39. A driving pulley 45 has trunnions 46 journaled in the bars 38. Tapes 41 are trained around the pulleys 43 and 45. As shown best in Fig. 3b, the tapes 41 lie below the tapes 25 when the conveyor 36 is in the position there shown. It will also be noted that the tapes 41 are interposed between the tapes 25. The conveyor 36, therefore, is substantially co-extensive with the fixed conveyor in the position shown in Figs. 2b and 317.

A friction brake 48 engages one end of the pulley 45, being mounted on a pin 49 extending inwardly from the adjacent side bar 38. This brake holds the drive pulley 45 against rotation when the conveyor 36 is moved away from the press cylinder I4 by means which will be described shortly. Gripper disks 50 are journaled on arms 5I secured to a cross rod 52. The cross rod is mounted on brackets 53 extending inwardly and upwardly from the side bars 38. The gripper disks 50 bear on the pulley 45. Their function is to stop a sheet fed forward onto the conveyor 38 from the fixed conveyor as the former moves away from the press cylinder.

As stated, the brake 48 holds the pulley 45 against rotation on outward movement of the conveyor 86. The pulley 45 is driven, however. on return movement of the conveyor, in such direction as to hold the sheet stationary while the conveyor travels out from under it, since the upper runs of the conveyor tapes 41 move, relative to the conveyor 36, at a speed equal to but in a direction opposite that of the conveyor 36. The upper runs of the tape 41 thus remain stationary relative to the side frames I6 and II. This is accomplished by a pinion 54 journaled on bearings 55 on the right hand trunnion 46 of the pulley 45 as viewed in Fig. 5. The pinion 54 meshes with a rack bar 56 secured to the inner face of the side frame II. A clutch cylinder 51 is formed integral with the pinion 54. A wedging clutch member 58 is keyed to the right hand trunnion 46. Pins 59 disposed between the wedging member 58 and the interior of the clutch cylinder 51 cooperate therewith under the influence of spring pressed plungers 66 to constitute a clutch effective to drive the pulley 45 only on return movement of the conveyor 36. As a result, a sheet which has been deposited on the conveyor 36 with its leading edge between the gripper disks 50 and the pulley 45 is advanced with the conveyor to the limit of its outward movement. On reversal of the conveyor, the sheet remains stationary in space and the conveyor rolls out from. under it, the tapes 41 being driven by the rack and pinion drive and free-wheeling clutch so that their upper runs move to the left, relative to the conveyor 36, as viewed in Fig. 21) at a speed which is the same as that at which the conveyor is returned to the position illustrated I in Figs. 2b and 3b. As above explained, the up per runs are stationary relative to a fixed point.

The conveyor 36 is traversed back and forth by means of gears 6I mounted on a cross shaft 62 and meshing with the rack teeth 40a formed on the side bars 38. The shaft 62 is oscillated in timed relation with the operation of the press by means which will now be described.

A shaft 63 is driven at a speed proportionate to that at which the press is operated by any convenient drive. In the embodiment shown, the

shaft 63 happens to be the fly-wheel shaft of the press. The shaft 63 drives a cross shaft 64 by means of bevel gear drives 65 and an inclined shaft 66 journaled in bearings 61 on the side frame I 6 and the adjacent side frame I3. A pinion 68 on the shaft 64 meshes with a gear 69 J'ournaled on a shaft fixed in the side frame II. A gear segment 16 is pivoted on the side frame II at 1| for oscillation and is connected to the gear 69 by a link 12 pivoted to the segment at 13 and to the gear at 14. Rotation of the gear 69 obviously causes oscillation of the segment 10. The latter meshes with a pinion 15 keyed to the shaft 62 and thereby oscillates the latter to cause reciprocation of the conveyor 36 through the gears 6i and rack teeth 46a.

The conveyor 31 is almost identical with the conveyor 36 except that the side bars 38' thereof do not have rack teeth formed thereon. They are, however, connected to the side bars 38 by links 16. As a result, the conveyors 36 and 31 reciprocate as a unit. Since the structure of the two conveyors is nearly identical, a detailed description of the conveyor 31 is unnecessary.

A deflector member 11 (see Figs. 2b, 3b, 8 and 9) in the form of a sheet bent back on itself to provide a sharp edge is mounted on a cross shaft 18 iournaled in the side bars 38' of the conveyor 31. The deflector member is movable 7e e a arouse 3 from the position shown in solid lines to the position shown in dotted lines in 118., 8. It is normally held in one orthe other of thesepositions by a friction brake 18 similar to that shown I at 48 mounted on a pin 88 extending inwardly from one of the side bars 88'. A lever 8i is secured to the shaft I8 adjacent the side frame I8 and is provided with a follower roller 82 adapted to cooperate with a side cam 88. Theside cam," 10 is secured to a shaft 84 journaled'in the side frame It and provided with an operating lever 88. A spring pressed plunger 8! in ahandle 81 on the lever 88 cooperates with-holes 88 in a plate on the side frame II to hold the cam 88 in 18 one of its two extreme positions indicated in solid and dotted lines in Fig. 8. The pin 88 also serves as a stop pin for the lever 8|, by cooperating with the sides of a notch 8Ia therein.

. It will be apparent that if the deflector mem- 30 ber 11 is in the position illustrated in solid lines. in Fig. 8 and the cam 83 is shifted to the position thereof shown in dotted lines, the follower 82 will engage the upper surface of the cam 88 on the next succeeding reciprocationof the convoy l ors 86 and 31 to tilt the member TI to its dotted line position. The reverse operation may be ef-- fected by restoring the cam 88 to its solid line position. The side cam 83 and its adjusting lever 85 thus constitute means for shifting the deflector 80 11 to one of its extremes or the other without stopping operation of the press or delivery mechanism.

when the deflector member 11 is in the position in which it is illustrated in solid lines in 35 Fig. 8, reverse movement of the conveyors 36 and 31, toward the press, causes the sheet to be transferred from the conveyor 36 to the conveyor 31. This results because, as already stated, the

sheet remains stationary in space while the con 40 veyor 36 rolls out from under it and the conveyor 31 rolls under it. The tapes ll" of the conveyor 81 are driven in precisely the same manner as the tapes I! of the conveyor 35. In this connection it may be noted that the rack bar 56, as shown :5 in Figs. 3a and 3?), extends the full length of the side frames. After transfer from the conveyor 36 to the conveyor 3? on return movement thereof, the sheet is then again moved on the second outward trip of the conveyors to a position over 5 a pile support 8% and on the second return movement of the conveyors, the sheet falls downwardly onto the pile as the conveyor 3? rolls out from under it.

When the deflector member i? is in the position 55 illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 8 a sheet on the conveyor 3%, instead of being transferred to the conveyor 3'? on return movement of the conveyors, is deflected downwardly from the tapes 47 onto a pile carried on a pile support 99.

w The pile supports St and 90 are suspended on cables traversing pulleys 9i mounted on the side frames It and ii. The cables are secured to drums 92 on shafts 93. The mechanisms for operating these shafts are indicated generally at g5 91 and each comprises a ratchet-wheel 95, a reciprocating disk 9% and a pawl 91 carried thereby cooperating with the ratchet-wheel. This mechanism is disclosed in detail and claimed in an application Serial No. 144,607 filed May 25, 1937 w for Pile raising and lowering mechanism by Joseph Sinkovitz. It will be suflicient here, therefore, to state simply that oscillation of the disks 96 causes gradual lowering of the pile supports 89 and 90 as the piles of sheets build up thereon.

u The disks 95 of the two pile lowering mechanisms projections extending are mm by a mix as was a we The disk nearer the press is operated by a link 88 pivoted thereto and to one leg'of a bell'crank I88 pivoted on a shaft extendinslfrom the side '8 frame Ill. The bell crank has a restoring spring IIII and is actuated by a push rod I02 sliding'in a suitable bearing I88. The push rod is pivoted to a lever Ill which in turn is pivoted at I08 to the side frame I8. The lever I04 is swung back 10 and forth by a crank I08 and a pitman I01 pivoted to the lever"! at I08. The crank I 06 is carried on a shaft which is driven at a speed proportionate to that at which the press operates.

The bell crank I00, in addition to the legs with which thelinks 89 and I III cooperate, has a short leg to which ispivoted the link IN. This link is 7 also pivoted to a crank' I III on a cross shaft III. Cranks II2 on this shaft operate push rods II8 for actuating jogger bars IIl directly. The push 20.,

rods 3 also actuate jogger bars III-indirectly through bell cranks I'IB mounted on heatin po ts Il'l projecting inwardly from the side frames Ill and II. The jogger bars Ill are carried on the push rods Ill by sleeves II8' adjustable'along the latter. The ends of the jogger bars II 5 nearer the press are provided with rollers II5a bearing on a cross bar H9. The other ends of thesejogger bars are supported by brackets I20 .secured to portions of a transverse shaft I2 I slidably 80 mounted in the side frames I0 and II anda central bearingblock Illa. The bell cranks H6 actuate the opposite ends of the shaft I2I toward and away from each other thus causing the jogger bars II5 to execute similar movements. The several jogger bars are provided with guides I22. Rear guides I23 are mounted on cross bars I 24 journaled in the side frames I0 and II and the blocks I2Ia. The cross bars I24 are normally urged clockwise by springs I25, one end of which engages under a pin carried on a stud I26, the other end of each spring being anchored to a pin I21 extending through the cross bar lid. A dog I28 having a square recess to receive the cross bar I25 is held thereon by a screw ms and a washer thereunder. The dog I28 has a projection I38 adapted to engage an adjustable stop screw I 30 threaded through the stud I25. The guides i2? may thus be pulled back to permit a bunch of sheets to be lifted off the pile on the support 8%. Sheets may similarly be lifted from the pile on the support at in case the conveyor 37! and pile support 39 are not used. It will be understood that the jogger mechanism shown in Figr2a for the support lid is duplicated for the support 9%, although a detailed showing of the duplicate jogger mechanism has not been included in the drawings.

A modified formof deflector member if is shown in Fig. 10. According to this modificaso tion, the deflector is constituted by a plurality of separate fingers secured to a shaft it instead of by a continuous sheet folded back on itself. The fingers are V-shaped in side elevation in about the same manner as the deflector plates ll. 35

It will be apparent from the foregoing description and explanation that the invention provides a means for delivering sheets to any selected one of a plurality of piles as well as means for readily shifting the delivery from one pile to another r d ally. from .the

. the cylinder and retreating therefrom. The leadcylinder are advanced by the tapes 25 of the fixed conveyor while the conveyor 36 is approaching ing edge of the sheet quickly overtakes the conveyor 36 and is engaged by the gripper disks 50 when the conveyor 36 has moved a short distance from its extreme position adjacent the cylinder. At that instant, the speed of the conveyor is only slightly less that that of the sheet. Thereafter the sheet moves with the conveyor 36 and away from the fixed conveyor.

One of the numerous advantages of the invention is the fact that the second conveyor and pile support may be left off if not needed. In such event the rear sections of the side frames are removed by unbolting at the joint I I. The connecting links 16 between the conveyors are also removed. The link 98 is disconnected as well as joints in the push rods M3 provided for this purpose but not indicated in detail in the drawings. It will be noted that the deflector member 11 is mounted on the frame of the conveyor 31 so as to be removed therewith as it is not needed unless the second conveyor and pile support are employed.

Although we have illustrated and described herein but a preferred form of the invention with a slight modification of one feature, it will be recognized that changes in the construction disclosed may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

We ciaim:

1. In a sheet-handling apparatus, a plurality of sheet-receiving supports disposed end to end, a plurality of conveyors arranged in tandem reciprocating above said supports toward and from a sheet-discharging device, deflecting means selectively causing a sheet to be delivered from the first conveyor to one of the supports or to a succeeding conveyor for delivery to another support and selectively operable means effective on reciprocation of said conveyors to change the setting of said means.

2. Sheet-handling apparatus comprising a frame reciprocable toward and from a sheetdischarging device, a plurality of conveyors arranged on said frame in tandem, deflecting means on said frame between said conveyors effective in one position to guide a sheet from one of said conveyors to the next and in another position to guide a sheet from said one of said conveyors onto a support therebelow and means effective to shift said deflecting means from one position to the other.

3. Sheet-handling apparatus comprising a frame reciprocable toward and from a sheetdischarging device, a plurality of conveyors arranged on said frame in tandem, deflecting means on said frame between said conveyors effective in one position to guide a sheet from one of said conveyors to the next and in another position to guide a sheet from said one of said conveyors onto a support therebelow and means adapted to be manually preset and effective on reciprocathe tandem conveyors-are positively held against.

tion of said conveyors to shift said deflecting means from one position to the other.

4. Sheet-handling apparatus comprising a pair of spaced side frames having ways extending therealong, a pair of conveyors disposed in tandem, reciprocable in said frames, each conveyor having side bars provided with shoes sliding in said ways and an endless conveyor belt trained around guide and drive pulleys, and a deflecting member pivoted to one of said conveyors effective in alternate positions to guide a sheet from the first conveyor to the second or to discharge it downwardly therefrom.

5. Sheet-handling apparatus including a pair of conveyors arranged intandem and mounted for reciprocation, a deflector member between said conveyors, relatively fixed means for shifting said member on reciprocation of said conveyors, and means whereby said fixed means may be manually preset.

6. Sheet-handling apparatus comprising a pair of spaced side frames having ways extending therealong, a pair of conveyors disposed in tandem, reciprocable in said frames, each conveyor having side bars provided with shoes sliding in said ways and an endless conveyor belt trained around guide and drive pulleys, a deflecting member pivoted to one of said conveyors effective in alternate positions to guide a sheet from the first conveyor to the second or to discharge it downwardly therefrom and means for shifting said member comprising a side cam on one of said side frames and a lever rigid with said member having a follower adapted to engage said cam.

7. Sheet-handling apparatus comprising a frame reciprocable toward and from a sheet-discharging device, a plurality of conveyors ar-. ranged end-to end on said frame, and deflecting means mounted at the adjacent ends of two of said conveyors and movable from a position in which it operates to guide a sheet from one of said conveyors to the next to another position in which'it is effective to guide a sheet from said one of said conveyors onto a support therebelow.

8. Sheet-handling apparatus comprising a frame reciprocable toward and from a sheet-discharging device, a plurality of conveyors arranged end to end on said frame, and deflecting means mounted on said frame between said conveyors movable from a position in which it is effective to guide a sheet from one of said conveyors to the next to another position in which it is effective to guide a sheet from said one of said conveyors onto a support therebelow.

9. In a sheet-handling apparatus, a plurality of sheet receiving supports disposed side by side, a conveyor above one of said supports and mounted forreciprocation toward and from a sheet-discharging device, and movable deflecting means mounted adjacent the delivery and of the conveyor and selectively operable to divert a sheet downward from the conveyor to one of the supports or to direct a sheet across said means for delivery to another support.

10. In a sheet-handling apparatus, a plurality of sheet-receiving supports disposed side byside,

a plurality of conveyors arranged and to end above said supports and mounted for reciprocation toward and from a sheet-discharging device, movable deflecting means mounted adjacent the delivery end of the first conveyor and selectively operable to cause a sheet to be delivered from the first conveyor to one of the supports or to a succeeding conveyor for delivery to and mounted for reciprocation, means for mov-v ing said frames toward and from a sheet-discharging device, and a traveling deflector member disposed generally between said frames and mounted on one of them for movement from a position in which it directs a sheet from one conveyor frame onto the next to a position in which it directs a. sheet downwardly onto a support.

12. Sheet-handling apparatus comprising a pair of spaced side frames having ways extend- 7 tandem, reciprocable'in said frames. each coning in said ways and an endless conveyor belt trained around guide and drive pulleys, a deflecting member pivoted to one of said conveyors effective in alternate positions to guide a sheet from the first conveyor to the second or to dis charge it downwardly therefrom and relatively fixed but manually adjustable means efiective on reciprocation of said conveyors to shift said deflecting member from one of its positions to another.

SAMUEL A. HUMAN.

JOSEPH SINKOVITE.

AUGUST A. SAUL.

' veyor having side bars provided with shoes slid 

